No Tuileries or Eiffel Tower for “The Woman in the Fifth.” Unlike most Paris-set movies, it’s confined to the darkest, creepiest parts of the City of Light.

You know there’s trouble ahead for Ethan Hawke the minute he surrenders his passport to the fishy clerk at the seedy dump he checks into in Paris, ostensibly to spend time with the daughter of whom he has lost custody.

More signs of trouble mount quickly: He takes a shady job as a night watchman, watching nothing. He stumbles into a seductive beauty (Kristin Scott Thomas) who moves fast, even for a Frenchwoman. And what’s with his Coke-bottle glasses, which make him look like a mole who has a sideline as a jeweler?

All things considered, it seems like only a matter of time before someone turns up dead. Like fellow Pole Roman Polanski’s “The Tenant” or “Repulsion,” Pawel Pawlikowski’s “Woman” is great at atmosphere, at building layer upon layer of unease and foreboding. Often, these mood movies are better at setup than payoff, so they lose some of their appeal when they have to reveal what’s what.

That’s the case here, too. The last fifth of “Fifth” is pretty unsatisfying. But the rest of it is tense, intelligent fun.

“THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH”

Directed by: Pawel Pawlikowski

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Kristin Scott Thomas

Rated: R, for language and violence

Should you go? If you’re prepared for a disappointing finale, the rest is effective. **1/2

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